


The Many Disasters Of Christmas

by arkhamknights



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Boxing Day, Christmas, Christmas Eve, M/M, Quick Romance, Strangers to boyfriends, Three part Christmas thing, abuse implied, christmas day, kinda cheesy, panic tracks, quick fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-19 23:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13134843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arkhamknights/pseuds/arkhamknights
Summary: Mandy had convinced Mickey to spend Christmas at their cousin Elijah’s, where they met the Gallaghers.And god, it did not go as planned.





	1. Christmas Eve

In the Milkovich household, Christmas was never a big deal. Few presents were exchanged. Mickey would always get Mandy a homemade shiv, Mandy would always get Mickey something that smelt nice, Iggy would get the both of them porn (though Mickey’s never did anything for him) and the other two sons were never even at home. 

But Mandy wasn’t going to let that happen again. Hanging around Karen Jackson, although she didn’t have a perfect family, made her become slightly obsessed with Christmas. Especially after the shopping trips and the festive coffees and the red green red green of every street they walked down. 

That’s why she messaged their cousin Elijah, who she visited when she had the money and time, in Brooklyn. 

He was Terrys equally awful brothers son, but he’d moved away from Chicago the second he was old enough to. Mandy had never met a nicer person. 

She wasn’t sure if it was because of his upbringing, convincing himself he didn’t want to be anything like the rest of his family, or if it was just him. She didn’t care either. 

On the day before Christmas Eve, she shoved enough clothes of both hers and Mickeys into a large bag, stole some money from Terry when he was sleeping, and nabbed other essentials along the way (including a bottle of whiskey. You know, for the kicks).

She didn’t tell Mickey about her plans until the afternoon, which she decided then was probably a bad idea. He put up one hell of a (verbal) fight when she’d found him under the El, but when she told him it’s just be a few days away at Eli’s, drinking eggnog and moping, he reluctantly agreed.

They didn’t even bid a farewell to Terry, Iggy, Colin and Tony. Not that any of them were normally at the house anyway. 

They got trains and taxis from different points, and finally ended up exhausted and hungry outside their cousins house in Brooklyn. 

“Mandy!” Elijah cheered from his front door when he saw her making her way over, lugging a bag of clothes, Mickey following behind her. “And Mick. Wow, good on you Mands, I wasn’t sure you’d be able to convince him,”

Mickey scowled at his cousin, but it wasn’t in a harmful way. Elijah was the only family member, other than his siblings, that Mickey actually liked. Sure, sometimes the early morning chirp and constant upbeat singing could get annoying, but the guy was way too nice to even be pinpointed back to the Milkoviches.

“Come on, ya big grump, you’re probably exhausted. There’s coffee and food inside,” Elijah rolled his eyes at his cousin, but still wore a large smile on his face, letting the two dark haired siblings step past him and into the threshold. 

Mickey had visited enough times to know where to go. They didn’t go an awful lot, because Terry would kill them with his bare hands if he found out, but Mandy loved to escape Chicago (which was entirely understandable, Mickey wished he never had to go back, but he’d never admit it) and Elijah’s was always the best choice.

“Thank you for this,” Mandy stopped next to her cousin, watching Mickey rush to the kitchen at the sight of still steaming coffee in the pot. “He really needed to get out, I know he did. He’d just never say it,”

Eli nodded, smiling slightly at the girls concern for her brother. Yeah, south side thugs had feelings too. “It’s okay. Anyway, it’ll be nice. I was going to be spending Christmas on my own, otherwise,”

A few hours later, Eli had gone to his room to do some work, Mandy had gone to the spare room, drained from their trip, and Mickey had finished making up a makeshift bed on the sofa. 

In all honesty, it was more comfortable than his actual bed was. But he blamed the fact that it was because Iggy had just stolen a mattress from some dump somewhere, then ‘cleaned’ it and given it to Mickey. 

He sighed, sitting back against the sofa and pulling the duvet from Elijah’s cupboard tighter around him. It wasn’t cold, the action was more of a reassurance. 

He reached out and flicked the TV on, going through a few channels and groaning at the fact there was only Christmas movies showing. Eventually, he settled on some dumb family film about a dog with a dumb name, Christmas or something?

He wasn’t really paying attention, and didn’t at all, eventually falling asleep, cocooned in blankets, curled up into the corner of the sofa.

When he woke up, Mickey was freezing. He could hear someone moving around upstairs, probably getting ready for the upcoming day. He wouldnt have noticed if they were downstairs anyway, he was more busy staring out of the window, when he saw three kids, three adults run out of the house next door, laughing and jumping around in the snow. 

A young, redhead girl tackled a brunette boy her age into the snow, holding her arms up in celebration. One of the older ones of the six, a tall, pale boy with red hair doubled over laughing, only to be pinned to the floor by the two kids.

Mickey swallowed. He didn’t cry, but if he did, he would probably have a few tears falling down his cheeks then. 

Never once in his childhood had he been able to play so carelessly without being scolded and told to grow up. Never once in his childhood had he experienced the love that so clearly wove in deep traits that family (he assumed they were family. or at least some of them) 

“Mick?” The delinquent turned his head, ignoring the sting in his eyes completely. Mandy was watching him carefully, wearing a large sweater (that was probably Karen’s, noting the burgundy colour and Christmas patterns along the neckline and sleeves) and shorts. He raised his eyebrows at her. “What you lookin at?” 

She sat next to him on the sofa, pulling some of the blanket from him and half curling into his side. He let her do it sometimes, she only did it when he was upset. 

Noticing the family outside, Mandy rested a cold hand on his arm and squeezing it. “That’s cute,” she smiled, and turned to look at him fully, “do you want to go to the mall in a bit? Pick up a few presents? I wanna get something nice for Eli, since he’s letting us stay,”

“Not really,” Mickey mumbled, entirely uninterested, his eyes still glued to the happy family outside. Mandy rolled his eyes and smacked him on the upside of his head, hard. “Ow- what the fuck?!”

“Wasn’t a question, dipshit. It’ll be fun,” she put her smile back on, and mickey nearly scoffed. Since when did a child of Terrys do presents? Since Karen and Elijah, apparently. 

Mandy had been ecstatic at the decorations when they’d first arrived. There was a large tree in the corner of the lounge, a colour theme of red and silver matching the rest of the house. 

There was tinsel string up everywhere it could be; shelves, weaved into the backs of chairs, all up the staircase bannister. Little ornaments were placed randomly around the room and the whole place smelt like cinnamon. 

“Fine, whatever, just let me get ready,” Mickey stood up and stretched, ignoring the creep of the cold over his shoulders and down his spine. Elijah seemed perfectly fine, and came skipping down the stairs in the ugliest Christmas jumper, red slippers and his underwear.

“Merry Christmas Eve losers!” He chanted, skidding -no joke, literally skidding- into the kitchen. He hit the top of the radio, and Mickey winced when Christmas songs burst to life. How the fuck had a Milkovich with shitty parenting ended up so chipper?

“Merry Christmas Eve, Eli. Me and Mick are gonna go to the mall soon, you need anything?” Mandy said as she got up, also stretching. Their cousin halted in his happy dance for a second, only to think. 

“Nah, I’m good,” Mandy nodded and turned on her heel, plodding upstairs to put on horrendous amounts of eyeliner and tight black clothing. “Oh, shit,”

“What did you do?” Mickey asked, letting his Southside drawl take over his tone. Eli rolled his eyes, and just held up an empty china pot, wearing a pout.

“We’re out of sugar. Could you maybe go next door, left side, and ask Fi if she’s got any? I would, but I’m not dressed and honestly I smell horrible,” Mickey raised his eyebrows, in a ‘so what?’ gesture. “Oh come on, Mick, I just landed a date with her! I can’t show up on Christmas Eve, smelling like a fucking sweaty teenager,”

“You’re twenty seven...” Mickey mumbled angrily, pulling on a pair of jeans and quickly spritzing himself with some lynx thing Mandy had got him for his birthday. 

Just to spite his cousin, he grabbed his superdry jacket as he left out the front door, noticing the family were back in their house. Clearly one of them was ‘Fi’, or she at least lived in the residence. 

Mickey tried to make himself look presentable (though a day trip to Brooklyn and sleeping on a sofa didn’t help) before he knocked on the door, only to be stared down by the young, redhead girl he’d seen earlier. She eyed him a bit, and yelled back ‘IAN!’ into the house. 

The other redhead, the tall one from outside, quite literally skipped down the stairs and slid to the door, resting his hands on his sisters shoulders. “Who are you?” He asked, green eyes not quite checking out Mickey, but definitely examining. 

“Wait,you aren’t here for Ian?” The little girl asked, frowning and hugging. Ian laughed lightly above her, ruffling her hair and finally removing is hands from her shoulders. 

“You’ve gotta stop trying to figure out who’s guests are who’s, Debs,” she scoffed and shoved his hip lightly, moving to walk past him and into the house. Ian turned back to Mickey when she was gone. “You here for Lip?”

“Uh, no,” Mickey furrowed his eyebrows, mostly wondering what kind of a name Lip was. Or if it wasn’t a name, and rather a euphemism for something. “Elijah sent me over, ran out of fuckin sugar or somethin,” the delinquent pushed his tongue to the corner of his mouth.

Ian grinned, and stood to the side as if to let Mickey in, who just raised his eyebrows in confusion. “come in, you’re going to freeze to death if you stay out there,” 

Mickey stepped inside, slowly, and eyed the house with suspicion. It didn’t look like Elijah’s at all, despite being just next door. It was a fair bit bigger, and had a rich, mahogany brown wood for the interior walls. There were family photos everywhere, in frames and hung up, of the same six people, sometimes less. There were kids toys and clothes and magazines everywhere, lose coins and wires strewn across the floor. 

It smelt nice, too. Not overly fake like Eli’s place, like a warm, comforting smell with an underlying hint of scented candles and baked goods. The Christmas decorations were everywhere too, but they weren’t colour coordinated like Eli’s. 

Mickey followed Ian through the house, to the kitchen, and leant against the breakfast bar as the redhead shifted through the cupboards. He pulled out an unopened bag of sugar, and handed it to Mickey. “Tell Eli he’s good to keep it. Oh! Also tell him that Fi wondered if he, and I guess you, wanted to come over tonight for a Christmas movie marathon. Debbie insisted to invite you guys,”

Mickey tried not to smile, because Milkoviches don’t smile at cute boys with massive grins. “I’ll tell him, or whatever.” As he turned away, the glass sliding door that was joint onto the open plan dining room and kitchen opened, and the oldest of the residents, a brunette woman, stepped through, with a young kid clutching her hand and the young boy from before on her other side. 

She grinned at the sight of Mickey, and set the kid down on the floor, the other one closing the door behind them. She pulled off her coat and hat, shaking snow out of her hair. “You must be Mickey! Elijah told me you were staying. I’m Fiona, older sister of this bunch,” she wandered over, holding out her hand. 

Mickey shook it with his free one and nodded formally. He mostly just wanted to run back to Eli’s, curl into a blanket and sleep everything off until he could go home and go back to his normal, drawling routine. 

“Well, Debs is organising a movie night tonight, and you guys are more than welcome to come,” Fiona blubbered, and Mickey nodded along with each and every word. God, this fuckin family. “And your sister. You’ve got a sister, right?”

“Who’s got a sister?” Another voice entered the conversation, a guy, probably around Mickeys age, emerging from the hal wearing grey sweatpants and a grey hoodie with a Santa hat on the front, a cigarette (unlit) in his fingers. 

Fiona rolled her eyes and laughed quietly. “Lip, this is Mickey, he’s Elijah’s cousin. Him and his sister are staying for a few days over Christmas,” 

Lip glanced over at Mickey and gave him a simple nod, walking past him to Ian, who was leaning back against the kitchen counters and watching this roughed up boy meet his family. “How old is she?” 

“You fuckin serious man?” Mickey groaned before he could catch himself, and covered his mouth, looking over to the little kid, giggling on the floor. “Shi- sorry!”

Fiona laughed loudly, and patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it, Liam’s used to it. his first word was ‘fucker’, thanks to Carl here,” she grabbed the other boy she’d been with, the only one Mickey didn’t know the name of, by the shoulders, much to his dismay. “But seriously, swing by later. We’ve got hot coco and home made apple pies, thanks to Ian,” 

The redhead smiled warmly at his sister, and then met Mickeys eyes, his gaze halting for a second. Lip was the only other person who noticed the prolonged staring, and tried not to laugh. “Well, I’ve got shit to build, houses to break into. Nice meeting you, Mikey,” 

“Mickey,”

“Whatever,” Fiona sighed at her brother, shaking her head. She noticed the sugar then, but didn’t say anything. Mickey rubbed his hand slightly.

“I should go, thanks for this,” He nodded at Fiona, and then at Ian, lifting up the bag of sugar slightly. The woman waved it off, and the redhead followed Mickey to the door. 

“Can I help you, firecrotch?” The delinquent asked when he was out in the snow again, Ian still watching him from the door. His face split into another ridiculous grin, and he simply waved it off.

“No. Say hi to Eli and your sister for me!” With a middle finger, Mickey made his way across the yard and back into Eli’s, clutching the sugar to his chest. 

Mandy was waiting in the open door, her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips. “Who was he?” She asked, clearly talking about Ian. Mickey scoffed, shoving past her. She followed him into the kitchen, where Eli squealed happily at the sugar and took it to finish making his drink.

“One of the many kids,” 

“Six. No, three! Three are kids,” Eli corrected, humming contentedly when he sipped his drink. Perfection. “The other three aren’t,” 

“He’s hot,” 

“Who, Lip?” Elijah asked, pushing himself up to sit on the counter. Mickey shook his head, taking his jacket off and dumping it on the small breakfast bar. It looked measly compared to the one next door. 

“Nah, the fuckin Ian kid,” 

Elijah looked at Mandy with wide eyes and then started laughing softly. Both of the Milkovich kids raised their eyebrows, not understanding what was so funny. “Oh honey!” He chided after he’d finally caught his breath, “Ian’s gay,” 

Mandy whined loudly, and then smacked her brother in the side of the head. Mickey flinched and complained loudly. “What the fuck?!” 

“It’s your fault! Going over there and using your thuggish gay swagger,”

Eli snickered, pretending Mandy did not just say ‘thuggish gay swagger’ to describe her brother. Mickey simply scowled back.

He didn’t exactly tell anyone he was gay, they just all seemed to find out. Except Terry, of course. He was too careful for that. 

Mandy had found a porn mag he kept under his mattress for safe keeping when she was changing his sheets. Iggy caught him barely checking out one of his friends at a shitty beach party they’d attended together. Elijah just figured it out. 

He didn’t have to deny it around them, either, which was refreshing. Because it was just Mandy and Eli. The only people he’d ever trusted. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t snark at it though.

“Lip’s straight, don’t worry,” Eli clapped Mandy’s shoulder with a grin. 

“And an asshole,” Mickey added, rubbing his knuckle against his nose. He started making up his own coffee in a travel mug, since Mandy looked ready to go out already. “They invited us for a fuckin movie night or whatever, by the way. Apple pie and hot coco and shit,” 

“Great, you’re going so don’t even say you’re not,” Eli pointed at his younger cousin, holding up a middle finger when Mickey went to protest. He kind of wanted to go anyway. The redhead was annoying but... intriguing. “And Mands can meet Lip,”

“Weird name,” she commented,moving to Mickeys side to fix up her own drink when he was done, his hands clutching the dull, black and silver flask. She chose one of Eli’s ugly Christmas ones. 

Eli nodded and snorted a bit, “It’s short for Philip. The guys a total genius, but yeah, he can be an ass. Once you’ve gotten to know him he’s alright,” Mickeys cousin looked him up and down, his nose scrunching up a bit, “probably doesn’t like the idea of the Southside chasing him down.” 

Neither of the siblings commented on that. It wasn’t any of their business why the family had apparently fled, but wanting to leave Chicago entirely was normal enough. And understandable. 

“Anyway, do you two need a lift to the mall? Or money for a bus?” Eli asked, finishing his drink in seconds and putting the mug into the sink. Mandy grinned and nodded at her cousin, making her brother sigh. Christmas was going to be hectic.

-

Shopping with Mandy went horrendously. She pulled him into every other store and ended up buying a fairly cheap outfit, claiming he couldn’t ‘look like he’d rolled out of a dumpster’ for the movie night. 

They got Eli some things, too. A box set of Hannibal, another ugly Christmas sweater and some candles. Mandy put it all in a bag they nabbed from the corner store and quickly wrote a card. 

She also got a box of chocolates, telling Mickey it was for Fiona and the others, as a sort of ‘thank you’. She also got a few things for her brother, and he snuck into a jewellery shop when they split for thirty minutes.

Tired and aching, Mandy called Eli, who swung by after he finished getting some last minute Christmas food to pick them up. 

They dumped their stuff at the house, and started getting ready for that evening.

Sighing, Mickey reluctantly changed into the clothes Mandy was making him wear. Normal black jeans, a red tshirt and an undone green and black plaid shirt on top. He also decided that fuck it, he might as well put on his glasses. 

He kept reminding himself he wasn’t in Chicago anymore. No one was going to hold a gun to his neck for looking like an easy target. 

Mandy came down the stairs and literally squealed at his appearance. “You look so cute!” Yeah, cute. She looked really nice too. A simple (but not hideous) red and green sweater that fell off one shoulder, a black vest and greying jeans with impromptu tears in the knees. 

Eli looked the same as ever. Messy black hair, huge circular glasses and the worst Christmas jumper of the many Mickey had seen already. Noticing his cousins eyes on it, Eli pressed the top of the Christmas tree, and it lit up, the Santa next to it making tinny noises. Singing, maybe?

“Alright, Eli, calm down! We going?” Mandy laughed when the sweater stopped it’s personal little production. They all pulled on their jackets, and Eli dumped the bags of food into the siblings arms, running back into the house. “The fuck?”

He came back out holding the bag of his own presents, the box Mickey got for Mandy, and the few other gifts. “Surprise!” Eli grinned, shoving them out and closing the door behind him, locking it, “we’re going there tomorrow as well, spending Christmas with them,” 

Mickey groaned internally, though the idea of spending Christmas was a redhead wasn’t something he’d entirely oppose to. Mandy seemed really excited, all jumpy and nervous. 

They knocked on the large door and waited in the cold, until Fiona opened it, the littlest of them all on her hip. She grinned at them and let them inside.

“Put your coats on the hooks, shoes in the rack!” She called over her shoulder as she walked down the hall and right, into the lounge. Mickey complied, then left Eli to put the food in the kitchen, Mandy forcing him to take her bag of food as well. 

Ian was sat in the middle of the breakfast bar, his legs crossed underneath him. “The fuck?” Mickey mumbled, listening to the gentle hums of the redhead. Ian opened his eyes at the noise, and jumped of the bar, grinning. 

“Well well well, if isn’t the biggest baddest thug of the area,” he greeted Mickey, stretching his arms above his head.   
Even if his shirt did ride up to show off a strip of skin at the bottom of his stomach, Mickey didn’t care. He didn’t even look. “Come on, Mick, don’t just stand there and pout. There’s chocolate to eat and Love Actually to watch,”

Ian reached to grab his wrist, but Mickey scowled and smacked his arm away. “Don’t call me that,” 

“What, Mick?” Ian raised his eyebrows, walking across the kitchen floor before turning around to walk backwards, his eyes trained on Mickey, who snarled in return. “Alright grumblefish,” 

Mickey followed Ian into the lounge, since he hadn’t actually been in before. 

Like the rest of the house, it had rich, dark wood walls, and a creamy white carpet. The door in was in the centre of one of them, and to the far left, there was a six foot (maybe bigger) tree, decorated in both proper decorations and the bits you’d make at school as a kid. There was bunting all around the room, in colours of green, red and white. More family photos covered the walls, and there was a large tv next to the tree, a small demo circle of seats and a sofa opposite. There was also a fireplace opposite the tv, bean bags and more small chairs around that. 

There was a large bookshelf to the right of the door, filled with not only books, but also board games, framed photos at the front. To the left of the door, there was a wooden desk with a couple more photos and an expensive looking PC. 

Mickey felt slightly uncomfortable, but followed Ian to the semicircle of seats, and ended up sitting between him and Mandy, who’d apparently really hit it off with Debbie. 

“Okay, Gallaghers and Milkoviches!” Fiona called, entering the lounge, holding a glass of what was probably knock off Baileys in one hand, the other being used to hold Lip on her hip. “In the lineup we have Home Alone, Love Actually, The Grinch, Bad Santa 2, and beause Carl bugged me, Die Hard. Lets do a vote for first movie!” 

In the end, they watched the Grinch first, then Home Alone. After that, Lip got up to get the apple pie and cream, plus a tray of hot coco (with extra cream for Debbie and Carl) for everyone. 

It was weirdly comfortable, that it almost made Mickey scream. During the break between Home Alone and starting the next film, Mandy noticed his glossed over eyes and fidgeting as the drinks got passed around. She smiled sadly, and put a hand on his knee, squeezing it. “No ones stopping you from enjoying yourself, Mick. They’ll think it’s weird if you don’t, not if you do. Be who you really are, for once,” she whispered to him when Ian had leaned too far over to here, and Debbie wasn’t chatting to Mandy happily. 

He swallowed. Maybe she was right. Maybe he could be slightly more pleasant, maybe he could actually have fun for once. He didn’t feel like crying in front of all these people, anyway.

Eli had been watching them from where he was sat next to Fiona on the loveseat next to the sofa. He caught Mickeys eye, and mouthed ‘have fun’, and that was enough of a prompt for him. 

Because it was Christmas, and what could go wrong on Christmas?

-

When Love Actually started, Carl commented (in a whine) about how cold it was, and went to grab more blankets for everyone. Half way through, Mandy got up to get a drink. She came back in and made Eli pause the movie. “We’re fucking snowed in,” 

Mickey sat up straight from where he’d literally sank into the large sofa, his heart beat rising. No. No fucking way. 

Fiona gaped at her. “Really? Just the back door?” Mandy shook her head slowly. 

“No, I checked the front after. The door won’t budge,” 

The wind outside really picked up in the next few minutes, then they heard a crack. The lights cut out, and the tv crackled off. Next to Mickey, Ian physically jumped.

The delinquent shot up out of his seat, rushing out of the lounge to check for himself, at first just gently trying to open the door. It didn’t move. He felt sick to the stomach, and started slamming his entire body against it. 

Mandy ran out as fast as possible, noticing the telltale signs of her brother freaking out, and why. She reached toward to grab his arm, only for it to be hit away. His entire body was trembling, and tears burnt at his eyes. “Mickey!” 

All the Gallaghers had gathered around the door to watch, and even Eli was totally shocked. “Mick, you need to relax. We’re in Brooklyn, not Chicago. He’s not here, calm down,” 

He fucking couldn’t. He heard Lip mumble something rude about the delinquent,only to be snarled at by Mandy and even Elijah. 

“Mickey,” a hand touched his shoulder gently when he’d finally stopped lashing out, and was instead clutching onto the door for dear life, his breathing erratic and rushed. “Breathe, okay? Relax. We’re going be fine. You’re safe here, safe from anyone or anything. We’ve got food and heaters and baseball bats,” 

Mickey looked over his shoulder a little to see Ian stood behind him. He couldn’t really pick out a person by their voice wen he freaked out, so he’d assumed it was Eli. “Come on, I’ll grab you a blanket and make you a drink,” 

But Mickey couldn’t get it out of his head. Trapped, he was fucking trapped. Enclosed in a huge but still claustrophobic house. His eyes burned with tears but he didn’t cry. Mandy came up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. 

He tried to control his breathing, but he was internally screaming still. Why did he freak out so much? Embarrassing. Thankfully the Gallaghers has returned as if nothing happened, except Ian, who was still watching calmly. 

Mandy eventually let him go and smiled. “You okay?” 

He nodded, numbly, and reached a hand up to wipe at his eyes, even if he hadnt actually cried. “Fuck,” he breathed after a few seconds, suddenly exhausted. “Yeah, I... sorry,” 

Mandy chuckled, taking off his glasses, breathing on them and wiping them down before putting them back in his nose. She then turned on her heel and went back into the living room. 

“Um, sorry to be a bother, do you still want a drink?” Ian asked from behind Mickey, who jumped slightly at his voice. He sighed and turned to face the redhead, rubbing his nose reluctantly. “It’s not gonna hurt,” Ian chuckled. 

“Fuck- Yeah, sure, whatever,” Mickey sighed, pushing his tongue to the corner of his mouth. 

Ian lead him to the kitchen, grabbing a large, thick blanket that Carl was dragging around with him. The young boy whined, but Ian stared him down until he dropped it. 

The redhead handed it to Mickey, who quietly thanked him and wrapped it around his shoulders. Ian looked pretty cold himself, but he hummed along happily to the gentle Christmas music playing through the radio. Mickey avoided looking at the sliding doors, but it occasionally happened, and he felt slightly dizzy seeing the snow piled up against them. 

Ian seemed to notice. “Hey, Mick, you good?” He asked after he’d finished making two hot drinks, and handed one to Mickey. He’d never say it out loud, but the delinquent didn’t look at all like a delinquent. He looked harmless and adorable.

Fiona came into the kitchen as they began to drink their drinks, and smiled at how settled and relaxed Mickey looked then, and how whipped Ian already was.

She knew the second Mickey stepped in that Ian was going to be chasing after him all holiday, even if it meant insisting Eli to make them visit more. He was always like this with people, and she knew why. A quick fuck in the living room was a normal thing for an (over the age of sixteen) Gallagher. 

The way he was looking st Mickey now was much sweeter than that. He seemed to genuinely care. 

Fiona nearly laughed out loud when she realised she’d just been watching them stare at each other and sip their drinks for near a minute. “Hey, guys. We’re not sure what we’re doing for sleeping arrangements right now, since you lot can’t get back,” she spoke gently, her arms wrapped around her sides. Mickey still jumped a little, but he was spooked nonetheless, so she didn’t blame him. “Mandy and Debs are going to sleep in the lounge, since Debs let Eli use her bed after much persuasion. We can make you a bed up on the floor of the boys room, if you want, Mick?”

Ian tried not to sound to eager when he interjected, “you can take my bed if you want. I’ll sleep on the floor,” Mickey looked up at him and raised his eyebrows, placing the hot, had filled mug on the bar. 

“No fuckin way man, you’re bed on Christmas Eve?” Mickey shook his head, “no way,” 

“I’m not letting you sleep on the floor,” ian shrugged, sipping from his drink. Fiona laughed at them, thinking in her head that they already acted like they were married. 

“Whatever you do, choose fast. It’s gone midnight and Debs is for sure making Christmas pancakes at six in the morning again,” she turned to leave, and paused, “night, boys. Merry Christmas,”

Ian smiled at her and nodded, a way of saying ‘thank you’ and ‘you did well’ and so many other things only siblings can exchange in looks. She smiled again and left. 

“Are you hungry?” Ian asked,standing up and stretching again.this time, mickeys eyes were definitely watching, and he really tried to not lick his lips, but it was very hard. If Ian noticed, he pretended not to.

“A little... I haven’t eaten all fuckin day..” Ian gasped, like it was a personal hate comment, and clutched at his chest. He turned around and routed through the cupboards for a few minutes.

“Okay, so we’ve got those awful bought pancakes, breakfast bars, croissants, cereal... basically just breakfast food,” he laughed, grabbing another mug from the cupboard for himself, and the cinnamon toast crunch cereal. 

“Cereals really fuckin good man,” Mickey groaned, finishing the last of his drink, “pass me a mug?” Ian snorted, and grabbed one of Debbie’s mugs from when she was seven. A one with kittens and glitter on it, to be exact.

Mickey stared at it like it was a personal fucking hate crime. “You’re the fucking worst, Gallagher,” 

“You’re in my house, eating my food and sleeping in my bed,” Ian shot back with a grin on his face, getting out to milk. They prepared their breakfast at midnight, and then Ian told Mickey to follow him through the house. 

The dark haired teenager did so, and took in the rest of the house, trying to not even look at the door on his way up, once the stairs were in eyesight and just to the left of the door. 

It was messier upstairs. Despite the clothes chute, there was dirty laundry scattered in the hall, and Liam’s squeaky toys everywhere. ‘The boys’ room was at the end, and definitely the biggest. 

It had to be, considering Carl, Lip and Ian all slept in it. 

Ian also made him drop off their breakfast food so they could grab the pillow bed from the cupboard, plus drag up duvets from the lounge that Debbie and Mandy weren’t using. 

Mickey helped Ian make up the spare bed, and then sat on it when it was done, stubbornly. The redhead raised his eyebrows, glancing around the room.

Carl was already asleep, with his ear defenders on, and he had no idea where Lip was. Probably trying to charm Mandy, still. 

Grinning, Ian reached down and tucked one arm under Mickeys legs, using the other to reach around his back and clasp his wrists in one hand. God, was the older of the two easy to pick up.

Ian dumped him on the bed, ignoring the frantic wriggling and complaints of Mickey, and then stretched out on the floor bed himself, grinning triumphantly. 

Mickey scowled down at him. “What the fuck ever, Gallagher,” he narrowed his eyes, “you’re gonna get your ass fuckin beat for that shit,” 

“Not whilst I’m here, please,” Lip sassed as he walked in, clad in his underwear and an old shirt. Ian rolled his eyes at his brother, but Mickey literally snarled.

“Did hitting on my sister fail miserably? Sorry, but asshole surprisingly ain’t her type,” Lip simply held up a middle finger (meaning it failed) to Mickey and threw himself into the top bunk.

The delinquent rolled his eyes, and then looked down at Ian, who was watching him carefully. 

He shifted under the attention, and simply nodded. “Thanks for this shit, Gallagher,”

Ian just smiled and shrugged, nodding his head at Mickey. “It’s Christmas, it’s no big deal. You wouldn’t still be here if we hadn’t have invited you, anyway,” 

“I don’t know about that, Eli was pretty enthusiastic,” Mickey snorted, laying back on the bed and starting at the ceiling as they talked. Ian chuckled, but eventually the room went quiet.

“Goodnight, Mickey,”


	2. Christmas Day (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did Ian need all of those pills, or was he just attempting to overdose in front of Mickey on Christmas Day? 
> 
> -
> 
> Day two trapped with six Gallaghers and two Milkoviches, it wasn’t going as bad as Mickey thought. But he wasn’t prepared to break any more of the stone set boundaries he had just yet.

When Mickey woke up, he was still freaked out. 

Someone had drawn the curtains. He wasn’t sure if it was for his benefit, if they didn’t want to be reminded of the situation themselves, or if it was just to block out the light. Either way, he was thankful.

He’d also pretty much forgotten that it was Christmas Day, with all the hectics of the previous night, so when he saw a measly stocking on the end of his bed and literal sacks on the Gallagher boys, he was a little weirded out. But then he laughed, because holy shit, stockings to the Gallaghers were literally sacks full of gifts. 

Mickey was quite chuffed, though. He’d never even had a stocking, so the spare one Fiona or Eli had found somewhere, despite it being half the size of Liam, was amazing to him. He also noticed that he was well awake before even Carl or Debbie, and that the whole house was silent. Twisting in Ian’s bed, he sat up and briefly glanced down at the redhead, who was still fast asleep. The clock on Ian’s bedside ‘table’ read 5:53am 

Mickey groaned quietly, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his hair, deciding he might as well get up. 

He located his way to the bathroom and quickly washed his face with cold water, and then trudged down to the kitchen. He briefly stopped next to the living room door and peered in, seeing Mandy sleeping peacefully on the sofa.

It was dark downstairs, so he flicked on a light and stumbled to the cupboards, taking out a glass and filling it with water. He nearly threw it when he felt someone touch his shoulder. 

“The fuck do you wa- Fuck, Ian,” he breathed, after reaching around and grabbing the redhead by his neck, a habit of growing up with his family. The redhead laughed, and spluttered a bit, Mickeys hand still wrapped around his throat. 

The delinquent dropped his hand, and placed the half empty, half full glass on the counter. “Hi,” Ian grinned, innocently. Mickey rolled his eyes at him, but then raised his eyebrows when the redhead reached to a high cabinet, filled with pills, and pulled out a few bottles, shaking the needed amount into his hand and then nabbing Mickeys drink. 

He threw them all into his mouth at once, and then downed the rest of the water. Mickey simply watched, his eyes blown wide with confusion. What the fuck? Did Ian need all of those pills, or was he just attempting to overdose in front of Mickey on Christmas Day? 

Catching the shorter of the two of them watching, Ian gave him a very fake smile, completely lacking of enthusiasm, and shrugged his shoulders. “Daily dose, nothing to worry about,” 

Mickey wanted to ask what for, he really did, but he couldn’t. That’s rude, and he’d just met the guy, it’s not like he’s going to pour his heart out to a stranger. So he remained quiet, and observed Ian as he stretched and sighed. 

“So, everyone will be waking up now. Or Carl will be waking them up. We normally do stockings in Fi’s room, and you’re definitely coming with,” Ian grinned, tapping his fingernails across the varnished wood of the counters. Mickey chuckled, shaking his head.

“Six Gallaghers and three Milkoviches in one room, going through fuckin sacks of presents? No thanks,” he nodded, rubbing a knuckle over the side of his nose. Ian snorted and grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the kitchen. Mickey was so tempted to twist in his grasp and just hold his hand, instead.

“No way. You’re joining in, Sergeant Slaughter, it’s tradition.” Ian pulled him all the way upstairs again, and sure enough, Carl was resting everyone awake. Elijah was already up and dressed, as per usual, so everyone piled into the tidy room, sacks in tow. 

Fiona explained to Mickey, Mandy and Eli briefly that she felt bad they had nothing to join in with, but that she’d gotten a few presents for them beforehand, thanks to Eli’s help.

They all opened them at the same time, going through them slowly and commenting on each other’s thing. Mandy got three new eyeliners and a pot of facial glitter (Mickey didn’t even know that was a thing). Eli had two packs of socks, lots of chocolate and a framed photo of him and his old cat. 

Mickey opened his after much prompting from Ian, to find a little lighter in the shape of a gun, some chocolate, a black Christmas hat that had ‘I hate this’ written across the front.

The Gallaghers each had a mini pile of stocking gifts. According to Fiona, her and Ian normally did each other’s individually, (because Lip also hated Christmas. That was a slight pro to the massive asshole he was), but Lip did help with everyone else’s. 

They ate before they did proper presents. Banana pancakes, cereal, hundreds of options were available. Ian stuck close to Mickey the whole time. He wouldn’t tell the other teen that he was still worried about him, he’d just pin it to the fact he was good company.

Mandy did pull her brother aside for a few minutes to check he was okay. He assured her he was, even if he was still a bit shaken up, and every time he glanced at the doors his hands would tremble a bit. 

It was only when he’d slid back into his seat beside Ian to eat his pancakes that he looked st the sliding doors opposite him. The snow was piled up against the majority of it, and he could see (and hear) the wind whipping at the trees, making the doors shake. Luckily, Christmas Day with Gallaghers and Milkoviches was loud enough to cover it up, mostly. 

It didn’t stop his hands from trembling again. He wouldn’t freak out like he did the previous day, he couldn’t embarrass himself again. 

Ian had already noticed his ragged breathing, eyes locked on the doors and shaking hands, though, and slid one of his own hands onto the boys knee to catch his attention.

Mickey snapped his head to look up, and the green eyes he was met with calmed him down a fraction, anyway. “Hi,” Ian whispered, a small smile infecting his face. 

“Hey..” Mickey mumbled back, his eyes flicking to the doors every few seconds. The wind picked up again, and one sweep over the trees lead to a branch snapping and falling down, but then landing out of view, being blocked by the snow. The snap was enough to make the delinquent, reduced to fear and weakness, flinch and curl into himself.

Ian squeezed his leg again, and took the shorter teenagers plate. Mickey hadn’t eaten anything, so he didn’t feel he had to ask before taking it to the kitchen and dumping the food, because everyone else was starting to look full already.

“We’ll meet you guys in there,” Ian nodded at his siblings, then pulled Mickey out of his seat by the forearm, dragging him to the lounge. 

It was much quieter in there. The wind was still extremely loud, but not as bad as it was in the kitchen. Ian crashed down on the sofa, and Mickey landed next to him. His nerves switched from the environment he was in to who he was sat next to.

Because fuck, Ian was hot. Really, really hot, and too nice, too. If he was a dick, maybe Mickey could’ve flirted a bit on his last day of visit, banged him and gone home. But the redhead was drawing patterns on his wrist, and who the fuck could ignore that? 

“I’m sorry for ruining your fuckin Christmas,” Mickey coughed awkwardly, not mustering up the ability to tell him to stop, but refusing to admit he liked the gentle touches. However, Ian did stop, with his hand wrapped around Mickeys wrist and his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. 

“Ruining?”

The delinquent nodded slightly. “Yeah, man. Showed up uninvited, ended up stealing your fuckin bed and freaked out over something dumb,” 

Ian’s hand started moving again, making swirling patterns down his arm until he reached Mickeys palm, and gently slotted his fingers between the older teenagers. “Shut up. You were invited, I offered my bed and you... you didn’t freak out over nothing,” Mickey went to open his mouth, but Ian continued before he could. “I know about your family, Mick. Eli’s been living here for years, and he’s around here all the time, do you really think I wouldn’t know? And don’t even get me started on freaking out. That’s my party trick,”

Mickey laughed under his breath, quietly. He felt shaky and unsafe, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how he was trapped, in a house, and holding a really hot guys fucking hand. It was practically his worst nightmare, if his dad was there. But he wasn’t. And Mickey had to keep reminding himself he was safe. “Oh yeah? I bet I can ace your party trick more than you can,”

Ian half smiled, exactly the same as the fake one he’d given Mickey that morning. If he had to confront the delinquent about his family to calm him down, he could at least tell him the truth. “I’m bipolar, Mick. Freaking out and doing something dumb is literally what I do,” 

The dark haired nineteen year old looked up, his eyes wide, to check if Ian was joking. But his face was sullen, other than the forced smile on his lips. And no,mickey had never been one for comforting people or talking or doing emotions in general, but he couldn’t help to squeeze Ian’s hand, and not so subtly shuffle closer. 

The redheads real smile returned, and he moved his free hand to the back of Mickeys neck, his eyes roaming over each and every centimetre of the boys face. His inky black hair, his electric blue eyes, his pale skin, dusted with barely noticeable freckles.

Just as he started to lean in, a horde of footsteps thundered down the hall, and Mickey flinched back as fast as he possibly could. 

The door to the living room swung open, and all the guests and residents of the house with it. They each took a seat, and Ian had to move in time to sit next to Mickey before Carl crashed between them. 

The delinquent looked more than uncomfortable at the redheads move, and pushed his tongue to the corner of his mouth, looking anywhere but Ian. Every time the redheads leg touched his, or their elbows brushed together by accident, Mickey would flinch and shuffle away.

“This ones for Mickey, from Ian?” Fiona said quizzically, eyeing her brother, who grinned in response. Mickey took the small, weirdly shaped and awfully wrapped gift, trying not to look at the redhead, but forcing a smile so people thought he was thankful. 

“I had to check with Debbie if I was okay to give this to you, but she couldn’t care less, so,” Ian elbowed his side, and Mickey scowled slightly. His sister laughed from the opposite side of the room.

Mickey tore the paper, and nearly choked when he saw the gift. It was the kitten mug from the previous evening, except it’s been intruded with a marker, to draw the black Santa hat Mickey had gotten in his stocking on top an angry looking kitten. They were also all labelled. The one with the hat was labelled ‘Mick’, the cuddly one wrapped around the angry one was labelled ‘Ian’, the one that was staring at those two was labelled ‘Lip’, and had angry eyebrows drawn on, and then the one who was watching them but looked content was labelled ‘Mandy’.

“This is all gonna rub off real quick,” Mickey commented, laughing quietly at the dumb gift. Everyone else giggled at it, and Ian simply grinned. 

“Nah, it’s permanent marker. I can go over it in paint, if you want,” Mickey snorted and shook his head, placing it on the coffee table just in front of them. When he meant back against the sofa, Ian pulled a blanket over them, and only gave it twenty seconds before he slid his hand only Mickeys lap and grabbed the delinquents own, intertwining their fingers and watching his siblings and the Milkoviches unwrap gifts, grinning or laughing as a response. 

After they’d finished up receiving gifts, (Mandy had nearly cried at the necklace her brother had gotten her, and tackled him into a hug) Carl, Debbie and Liam entertained themselves with their new belongings, Fiona and Eli went to the kitchen to continue cooking Christmas dinner, and Mandy got dragged upstairs by Lip. 

He didn’t exactly understand his sisters taste in guys, (except for Ian. Ian was hot) but Mickey was glad she seemed to genuinely like Lip, as they sat close and giggled and wouldn’t stop touching each other. Plus, she was wearing one of his shirts, and wearing someone else’s clothes was a clear Milkovich line. 

Then again, so was dating someone of the same gender, but hey, Christmas is for breaking rules and having fun. That’s why Mickey let Ian pull him upstairs when Mandy and Lip returned to watch TV together and giggle like schoolgirls. 

The second they reached the Gallagher boys bedroom, Ian slammed the door shut and turned to Mickey, who was only half facing him. “Why are you now acting like you hate me? You were clearly as up for it as I was,”

“I don’t know what you’re on about, Gallagher...” Mickey mumbled angrily, turning away entirely then. The curtain was still closed. The room was empty, other than them.

“Do Mandy an Eli know you’re gay?” Mickey opened his mouth to answer, just as he had earlier on, but couldn’t. “of course they do. come on Mick, no one here cares,”

“I do,” He spat out, turning to glare at the redhead, but his eyes turned to doe when he saw the other was more upset than pissed off. Fuck. “I...”

“Like me. You like me,” Ian said confidently, stepping towards him and touching the side of his neck. On instinct, Mickey would normally deck the person doing it, even if he did like them. But he couldn’t move. 

The redhead sighed, and leant down to slit their lips together, and Mickey couldn’t breathe. Because shit, Gallagher smelt good and tasted good and he was an amazing kisser. 

The kids heated up a bit, but it Mickeys internal screaming never died down. He felt so exposed and so naked and fucking terrified, but he also felt on fire at the way Ian pushed his tongue into the shorter of the twos mouth, and backed him up against the wall.

Eventually, the redhead pulled away, grinning widely at the slight pink blush dusting across Mickey’s cheeks. “No use pretending you don’t like me now, Milkovich. Come on, Lip and Mandy want to watch Dunkirk before the kids get bored and want to join us,”

And just like that, Mickey stopped trembling by the door and stopped wishing he was at home, the more boundaries he broke. Because that’s the point, he wasn’t at home. He was hours and hours away, with some of the most caring people he’d ever met, (Even Lip had proved to be pretty alright) even if they were physically trapped in the house. He almost wished they’d remain trapped until they completely ran out of food, which would be days from then. Because he loved being there much more than he hated being trapped with his dad, in an ugly, stinking house in the Southside of Chicago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m doing Christmas Day in parts, bc I feel it’ll work better that wayyyyy. I hope you’re enjoying this so far!! Please do leave a comment if you are, I love hearing your feedback x


	3. Christmas Day (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And who cares if he ended up with Ian curling into slightly, crying onto his shirt by only half of the way through? Not him. He didn’t. Because he was safe, judement free and entirely happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just so you know, I'm treating all of this like Christmas in Britain, so idk what your traditions are, but in this, they're what my family do.

Ah yes, Christmas Dinner.

Obviously, Terry’s kids had barely experienced dinners that weren't made from a microwave, or eating it at a table. Never in his life had Mickey changed his normal diet for a large meal around a larger table, and acted all happy and friendly with his family. 

So being with the Gallaghers, being comfortable and happy with them, was fucking mind blowing to Mickey. Not so much to Mandy, she had friends who had her over a fair bit, and she obviously loved them, but she could tell how foreign to the experience Mickey was the second he sat down. He looked extremely confused at the conveyor belt of plates being passed around, and Ian noticed that. 

“Take the stuff you want and pass it along, dumbass,” He mumbled to Mickey as the dauphinoise potatoes were passed down and handed to the dark haired delinquent. Giving Ian a weird look, he started to pile food on his plate and join the slight commotion that was trying to keep an orderly system in the hectic flow as hands and plates.

Carl nearly cried when the meat platter skipped him because he was busying himself with cauliflower cheese, Debbie kept complimenting Fiona and Elijah on their ‘magnificent’ cooking even though everyone was yet to take a bite, and Mickey felt so fucking homely and safe that it almost suffocated him. He didn't say anything, not to Ian or Mandy, because what the fuck? One second he's upset because he doesn't feel safe and now he’s uncomfortable because he does? 

Sighing, he joined back into the conversations. “Are we doing crackers?” Lip asked from head of the table, to the left of Mandy, who was at Mickey's side. The dark haired teenager had no idea what the fuck they were talking about, and it clearly showed, because Ian snorted and grabbed the weird, long cardboard thing from in front of his plate and handed it to Mickey, then picking up his own.

He crossed his arms, so the ‘cracker’ was on Mickeys side, and his free hand took Carl's, who was opposite him. It took the older of the two a few seconds to figure out what the fuck to do with himself, before he copied the motion with Mandy. “After the countdown, pull as hard as you can,” Ian whispered as everyone prepared, making a ring.

Fiona did the count down, and everyone cheered when they did pull. Mickey ended up with his that he shared with Mandy, but had the shorter end with Ian. He looked at the redhead, clearly confused, who laughed again and took the long end, pulling out a paper hat, a piece of paper and a spring. “You get a hat, a christmas joke and fact, and some weird fucking toy or something,”

Mickey raised his eyebrows, and glared at the hat, briefly picking it up to unfold it and examine the colourful thing, glaring at it like it was the worst thing in the world. “I am not fuckin wearing that,” He stated clearly, loud enough for the kids to heat, but no one seemed to mind. Not about the swearing, but definitely about the hat. Ian whined, holding his up and complaining that his was fucking orange. “At least it’ll blend in,” Mickey mumbled angrily, poking his like a dead animal. Ian rolled his eyes, grabbing the bright blue paper crown and putting it on the boy head before he could even think.

“It’ll match your eyes,”

“Thats fuckin gay,”

Ian grinned, leaning close to his ear and putting a hand on his thigh, speaking lowly and queitly “You’re fuckin gay,”. Normally, Mickey would murder anyone who said that. But this was Ian, and murdering someone was probably not a part of polite social etiquette, so he simply swallowed and let the flush crawl up his neck. Ian seemed satisfied, and sat back in his seat, beginning to eat his food like nothing fucking happened. 

Mandy had watched the whole fiasco, and was grinning silently next to her brother, until he turned to his food. She leant in, just short of how close Ian was to him, and whispered excitedly, “Are you guys a thing?”. Mickey nearly spat out his food, and went to say no, but she’s Mandy, so she kept talking anyway, “Because you’re blushing and getting flustered over him. Must be big if you’re letting him treat you like you’re dating. Was the sex good?” He shoved his sister away by her shoulder, and started literally shoveling food down his throat, refusing to answer any more dumb questions or join in with any more dumb traditions.

“So, Mickey, you’re nineteen right?” Fiona asked when everyone was at least a sixth into their huge meals, except Carl. Carl had probably already had half, maybe even more. Either way, Mickey didn’t care, but he did care about the fact Fiona was also treating him like he was dating Ian, with the questions. He nodded slightly. Was she going to ask him what his intentions were next? “Do you work?”

“Uh, normally, yeah. I’m a mechanic in a shitty garage back at home,” He shifted, uncomfortable in his seat, and uncomfortable under everyone's silence to let Fiona possibly rip him apart with questions. Mandy realised then that Fiona had also seen the little interaction between her brother and Ian, and just assumed he was the type to date. 

“Did you finish high school?” 

Mickey bit back his tongue, and felt slightly terrified. School was something he didn’t, and wouldn’t, talk about. Beside Fiona, Eli went to interject and change the conversation, knowing how the topic rubbed his cousin the wrong way, but Mickey spoke up. “No, I didn’t. Couldn't. Had to work to pay for Mandy’s shit,”. He ignored the way Mandy smiled at him even answering, and how Eli looked both relieved and pleased.

“I didn’t either, for the same reason. Had to supply for all these little ones,” Fiona smiled warmly at him, which made Mickey feel slightly more comfortable, and willing to answer questions. Well, some questions, all was a promise he’d never make. Not that he’d make promises, ever, anyway. “Love em though,”

-

Ian was really, really touchy. Throughout their meal, he made flirty and affectionate touches look casual, his leg almost glued to Mickey's from his hip down to his ankle. He made sure to let his fingers graze over the dark haired beauty anyway and every way he could. Then the second movie marathon in two days came around, Debbie put a Dog's Purpose on, and the redhead teenage boy forced Mickey into sitting with him, though he was beside his sister again, and pulled a soft blanket over them. He started drawing patterns on Mickeys forearm just like he had earlier on in the day, as well, and even slotted their fingers together, another parallel to that morning. 

And Mickey let it happen. He let Ian grin stupidly wide, their palms hidden, but still clasped together under the blanket. And who cares if he ended up with Ian curling into slightly, crying onto his shirt by only half of the way through? Not him. He didn’t. Because he was safe, judement free and entirely happy.


End file.
